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94 lines
4.0 KiB
TeX
94 lines
4.0 KiB
TeX
In this chapter you will learn how to make
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free-standing wheat sourdough bread.
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\begin{figure}[!htb]
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\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{loaf-pan-free-standing.jpg}
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\caption{A free standing sourdough bread made with wheat flour}
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\end{figure}
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A free standing sourdough bread is my personal favorite
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type of bread. It combines a great crunchy crust, superb
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flavor and a soft fluffy crumb. This is the type of bread
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that is being inhaled by my friends and family. Unfortunately
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making this type of bread requires a lot more effort, patience
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and technique than other types of bread. You have to perfectly
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balance the fermentation process. You can not ferment for too
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short and also not for too long. The techniques you need to
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learn require a bit more skill. It took me several attempts
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to get this right. One of the challenges I faced was that
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I had the wrong flour. I didn't properly know how to use my oven.
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When should I stop the fermentation? There is a lot of information
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out there. I dug through most of it and have tried almost everything.
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In many cases the information was wrong, in other cases I
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found another valuable puzzle piece. Aggregating all this
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information was one of my main motivations to start the bread code.
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My key learning was that there there is no recipe that
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you can blindly follow. You will always have to adapt the recipe
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to your local available tools and environment.
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But do not worry. After reading this chapter you will know
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all the signs to look out for. You will be able to read your dough.
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You will turn into a confident hobby baker that can bake bread
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at home, high altitude, low altitude, in summer, in winter,
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at your friend's place and even on vacation. Furthermore
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you will know how to scale your production from 1 bread to 100 breads. If you
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ever wanted to open up a bakery, consider this knowledge to
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be your foundation.
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Mastering this process will enable you to bake amazing bread without
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ever buying yeast again.
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\section{The process}
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\begin{figure}[!htb]
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\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{sourdough-process-overview.jpg}
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\caption{An overview of the whole sourdough process from start to finish}
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\end{figure}
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The whole process of making great sourdough bread starts with
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readying your sourdough starter. The key to mastering
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this process is to manage the fermentation process properly.
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For this the basis is to have an active and healthy
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sourdough starter.
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Once your starter is ready you proceed to mix all the ingredients.
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You want to homogenize your sourdough starter properly. This
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way you ensure an even fermentation across your whole dough.
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After a short break you will proceed and create dough strength.
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Kneading will create a strong gluten network. This is essential
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to properly trap the CO2 created during the fermentation.
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Once you kneaded the bulk fermentation starts. Bulk fermentation
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because you typically ferment multiple doughs together in one bulk.
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Understanding when to stop this step will take some practice.
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But nothing to worry, you will learn the exact signs to look out for.
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Once this is completed you need to divide your large blob of
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dough into smaller pieces and preshape each piece. This allows
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you to apply more dough strength and shape more uniform loaves.
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The proofing stage follows where you finish the fermentation process.
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Depending on your time you can proof at room temperature or in the fridge.
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Mastering proofing will turn your good loaf into a great loaf.
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Lastly you will finish the whole process by baking. You will learn different
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options on how to properly steam your dough. This way your
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dough will have beautiful oven spring. During the second
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stage of the bake you will finish building your crust.
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All the steps rely on each other. You will need to get each of
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the steps right to make the perfect bread.
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\section{Readying your starter}
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\section{Ingredients}
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\section{Hydration}
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\section{Autolyse}
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\section{Fermentolyse}
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\section{Dough strength}
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\section{Controlling fermentation}
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\section{Optional Preshaping}
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\section{Shaping}
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\section{Proofing}
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\section{Scoring}
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